Have you ever thought of buying a solar mobile generator?

But don’t know the points to check before purchasing a portable solar energy generator.

One of my friends recently asked me this question. He was planning to go camping for a few days with his friends.
He needed a solar light generator to get some lights in the night. However, he was not sure how can he purchase a good generator for his need.

This clicked in my minds and I thought of writing this post so that you can get benefits too.

Factors Affecting Buying Solar Mobile Generator

There are many useful fun items that everyone wants to buy.

For instance, I am a huge fan of luxury cars. Assume that I can afford my dream car.

I am not going to randomly pick a luxury car. There are many things that I need to check. I need to check the car’s mileage, ground clearance, features, and many things more.

There are similar things that needed to be check while buying a portable solar generator.

As the example given to the car above, the factors to look out when purchasing the solar portable generator do depend on the taste and power requirements of you.

10 Things to consider when purchasing portable solar energy generator

The factors mentioned below are not in any particular order. Each and everything has its own significance which can’t be neglected.

1. Energy Capacity Of Mobile Solar Power Generator Or Solar Inverter Rating

Solar-powered generators are infamous for divers incapacity. A purchaser must look at the power of the generator.
The capacity of solar generators is measured in Watts (W). This Watt (W), when applied to a load (like a bulb, laptop, etc), converts to Watt – Hours (Wh). You must check the wattage of the gadget before buying it.

The inverter capacity is measured in Watts or Volts-Amperes (VA). While the capacity of a battery is measured in watt-hour (Wh) or ampere-hour (Ah).

These Watt, watt-hour, volts – amperes, ampere-hour can be confusing at first. But it is important to know your power requirement and choose a mobile generator based on this.

“The more the wattage, the greater the purpose it can solve.”

For example, a generator rated 1,000 – 1,500w can only serve purposes like – charging mobile, laptop, etc.

If you have higher power requirements then it is advisable to go for at least 2,000w or more capacity gadgets.
Still in doubt ask purchaser, read the manual or do some DIY search online.

Pro Tip – Have a realistic expectation from the generator. If you expecting your gadget to power 10 lights and 5 fans, then you will be disappointed.

2. Solar Battery Rating

Batteries are the crucial part of a solar generator. It stores the power when its daylight and using this stored power light in the night.

Battery’s powers are measured in Watt-Hour (Wh) or Ampere- Hour (Ah).

In the general case, the better the rating of the battery, the higher the purpose it can solve.

Make sure not to choose a battery that is too heavy to carry.

3. Size Of Portable Solar Energy Generator

Another important factor to consider is the portability of the solar mobile generator.

Portability is needed when you want a solar generator for fun activities like – trekking, camping, etc. You definitely don’t want to carry a bulky device if you all need to charge a Smartphone or laptop.

4. Solar PV Input

The photovoltaic input refers to the total no. of solar panels that are required to power your generator.

Some portable solar generator comes with an inbuilt solar panel. However, with others, you need a purchase a separate solar panel and attach it with a generator.

In both cases, you need to verify that voltages, as well as amps, are well in the range that the generator battery can handle. Also, check how much time it takes for the solar battery to fully charge.

How to check the time it takes for a solar battery to charge?

You can determine the approximate time it takes to charge the solar battery by dividing battery capacity (Wh) by total solar panel capacity (W).

For example, if the battery capacity is 500Wh and solar panel capacity is 100W. Then it will take 5 hours for the solar battery to fully charge.

Solar panels take very long to charge solar batteries.

If you need more power than it is advisable to get solar panels with high wattage.

However, if you want to charge a smaller device then a typical 100-watt solar panel is worth.

5. Reputation Of Brand

The internet is filled with all kinds of shitty ads selling all over the place.

Not every product on Top of Amazon or Alibaba is genuine. Not every product on the top of Facebook or twitter is worth their money.

Many of them are fake brought. There are lots of YouTube videos where people cry after buying a solar portable generator. Believe me, you don’t want to be in that shoe wasting money.

This is not very talked points but it is dead important.

Many times, this product doesn’t have any brand name (OEM products). So checking the brand reliability is a must.
I recommend using brands like – Goal, Suaoki, Kodiak, yeti with few more.

Most of the time, you wouldn’t find any problem with these brands.

It is also useful to consult a few people who have already bought solar mobile generators.

Online reviews by professionals (like my work on “Website name”) and YouTube videos could also help.

Bonus Tip

Extra Features

Extra features are worth researching like wireless connectivity, fast-charging USB ports, LCD Display, No. of ports, etc.

Some generator comes with an LCD display that keeps power tracking easy. You can always check battery power left, charging time, and many more.

Also, fast-charging USB ports are welcome.

Why To Choose Solar Light Generator Instead of Fuel Generator?

The solar generator has various advantages as compared to counterpart fuel generators.

1. Eco-Friendly – Solar generator uses the power of the sun to produce electricity. They don’t produce carbon in the environment. It means you can carry it in the wild without polluting environment.

2. Noise Free – These generators can run with no noise at all. So, you are free to use it anytime without disturbing your neighbors. This feature also makes it suitable for outdoor activities.

3. No tension of running out of fuel – Sun energy is everywhere. You don’t need to about running out of fuel. This is a great advantage when you are camping in the wild.

4. No need to carry fuel – In fuel-based generator, you need to carry fuel if going out for camping. This put an extra load in the wild. But with solar energy, this is not the case.

5. Little to no maintenance – Solar generators don’t require maintenance. Once in a while clearing the solar panel would be sufficient.

Final Thoughts

Everyone has their unique taste in products. This also holds true when purchasing a solar mobile generator.
Beware of the false statements put forward.

This guide will help you in your way to a portable solar generator. This is also a fail-safe kind of guide no matter what your requirements are.

However if you still find it difficult to select a generator, look at my list of “best portable generator”.

Over To You

Let me know about your thought on the solar mobile generator in the comments below.